Next of Kin (and relationship): Leah Good (Mother)
Date of enlistment: May 22, 1942
City and province of enlistment: Winnipeg Manitoba
Essay
James Hamilton Good was born at International Faith Minnesota on December 17, 1921. His parents were Leah and Percy Good (certificate of service) . He had one brother who was younger than him by eleven years named Marvin Good (Memorandum for Leah Good). The records aren’t clear on his early life so we can only presume he and his parents moved to Ontario for a better life. Since the depression was happening around 1929 till around 1933 most families were seeking jobs elsewhere. The Good family being no different from many other families moved to Canada. James Good got his education in Armstrong grade ontario. He then went into St.Pauls High School on "September 6, 1938 for grade 10.His school records says he was having trouble with passing grade 9 + 10 history and grade 10 music" (Report card). He however did not complete the school year. On December 23 1938 he left school so he could work at the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) (Report Card). I think he originally went to school because he wasn't old enough to be able to work in the work force right away. He then worked at the HBC as a department clerk for 4 years before his enlistment on may 22, 1942.
James enlisted at Chippawa to be part of the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (Service Records). "The history of the R.C.N.V.R started on may 4, 1910. This was created under the Naval Service Act by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier . This helped established the Canadian navy prior to WW1. They were disbanded after WW1 but was reintroduced in 1923 due to naval budget cuts" (Orrick). The R.C.N.V.R motto is Diuturne Fidelas which translates to for long and faithful service. When James first volunteered he trained at Chippawa for 3 months. Then he would spend another 4 months training at York and St Hyacinth. His training would consist of basic naval training (ie teach him how to swim, how to survive in ocean waters) and how a warship operates.
James first ship he worked on was the Stadacona (Active Service). The "Stadacona was a patrol boat in WW1. It was later trained as a frigate for recruits during WW2" (Technical info. on the Stadacona). A frigate was an essential tool in the navy to hunt U-boats. The Corvett and the Frigate would go together and would have a max speed of 20 knots . This would match the speed of a German submarine and would drop depth charges to destroy the submarine or cause it to surface. James role on this ships was an ordinary seamen. Which was a normal person who executed everyday activities on the ship. They would do everyday stuff to gain more time on the sea, so they can apply for other jobs on the ship.
The next ship James was on was an destroyer (Active Service). The destroyer was also an important naval vessels for a few reasons. One the Destroyer was to escort conveys from North America to the United Kingdom. They would provide protection to the convoys from the U-Boats. Which leads to the second point it was meant to also destroy submarines (U-Boats) with depth charges." The destroyer was the most capable and most feared escort vessel the allies possessed early in the war. It was larger and more heavily armed than the Frigate and considerably faster. They were also of shallow draught, making it difficult to torpedo them" (U-Boat.net). This made them an ideal weapon against submarines.
James role on the destroyer was an telegraphist. This was a job in which he was responsible of wireless communications to the ship.
A U-Boat was a German submarine that would travel in groups called "wolf packs". A "wolf pack" being can range from 2-30 submarines. The sole purpose of the U-Boat was to seek and destroy vessels inbound to Europe. Since the German battle plan was to make U.K surrender from lack of resources/supplies from her allies. The U-Boats were super effective of sinking allied vessels. They would use the cover of darkness to attack allied ships. Sometimes they would even go into the center of the convoy group and attack from within the group. This proved effective because in 1940 alone they sunk over 2.6 million tons of merchant ships.Meanwhile only 24 u-boats were sunk that year
(UBoat.net).
On James last ship he served was the St. Croix. The "St. Croix was a destroyer that was given to the Canadian Navy from the United States, previously called the McCook.The St. Croix was responsible for convoys from St. Johns to the United Kingdom" (Naval Museum). "Prior to James being killed, his ship was off the coast of France when he received orders of U-Boat activity off the coast of Greenland. There was the convoy (ON.202) that was taking enemy fire from the U-boats. The St.Croix diverted her course and was helping assisting the HMS Itchen hunting down U305. However the St.Croix was torpedoed by U305 and sunk in less than 3 minutes. 75 men died including James when his ship was torpedoed. However 75 men also survived the attack and was later rescued by he H.M.S. Itchen. Sadly thou the Itchen was sunk two days later and only 1 surviver of the St.Croix survived" (Canada's Naval Forces).
View Larger MapThis is were the destroyer St.Croix was sunk and were James was killed.
James was awarded with 1939-45 Star C.V.S.M. and a Clasp War Medal.He was awarded with the star for his services to his country.It is a recognition from the country to give thanks to his family for giving up his life to his country.
1939-45 Star
(Service Star)Service Star 1939-45 C.V.S.M. The Star was awarded for "six months service on active operations for Army and Navy, and two months for active air-crew between 02 September 1939 and 08 May 1945 (Europe) or 02 September 1945 (Pacific)" (Service Star).
(War Medal Clasp)War medal Clasp
This was "awarded if the service period qualified for one of the Stars and if terminated by death, disability due to service or capture as a prisoner-of-war. A merchant seaman had to have served a minimum of 28 days at sea" (medals issued to Seamen).
"The Halifax Memorial was erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 1967. It serves to commemorate the war dead of the then Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). The memorial is mostly of granite construction. It features an octagonal base topped by a cross nearly 40 feet tall. Around the base are large bronze panels which feature the names of approximately 3,000 Canadian servicemen and servicewomen who died or were otherwise buried at sea" (HMS Hood).
(HMS hood)
Works Cited
“57º30’N, 31º10’W.” Map. Google Maps. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=57%C2%BA30’N,+31%C2%BA10’W&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=57.421294,-28.652344&spn=82.522954,228.339844&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=47.029814,114.169922&t=m&z=3>.
“The Battle of the Atlantic.” www.canadaatwar.ca. N.p., 26 May 2009. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.canadaatwar.ca/content-54/world-war-ii/the-battle-of-the-atlantic/>. This website gives out detailed information on how the U-boats would attack allied ships.
Book of Remembrance . Book of remembrance . N.p.: n.p., n.d. 164. veterans affairs,ca. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2012.
Canada. Department of National Defence. Memorandum for Leah Good. Ottawa : n.p., 1944. 64. Print.
- - -. Royal Canadian Volunteer Reserve. Certificate of the Service of James Hamilton Good. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Canadian Government. Naval Training and Active Service . N.p.: n.p., 1943. Print.
- - -. National Defence. Ship Technical Information on Stadacona. National Defence and the Canadian Forces. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2012.
Editorial. www.canadaka.net. N.p., 5 July 2004. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.canadaka.net/content/page/72-royal-canadian-navy-in-ww2>. This website provides information on the convoy services from North America to Europe. Has some explanation on the German subs and were they attack ‘black pit’ without the RCAF to bother them ,which made it harder for RCN to attack + destroy the subs.
“Google maps.” Map. Google maps. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2012. <https://maps.google.com/maps?q=281+Spence+Street+Winnipeg+Manitoba&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.357014,86.572266&hnear=281+Spence+St,+Winnipeg,+Division+No.+11,+Manitoba+R3C+0G3,+Canada&t=m&z=16>.
Halifax memorial of James good headstone. N.d. hmshood.com. Web. 15 May 2012.
“ H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour Halifax Naval Memorial.” hmshood.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2012.
http://naval-museum.mb.ca. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://naval-museum.mb.ca/battle-of-the-atlantic/hmcs-st-croix/>. This website talks about the types of weapons the u-boats used to sink the St.Croix. Talks about the invention of the gnat torpedo.
Macpherson, Ken, and Ron Barrie. The Ships of Canada’s Naval Forces 1910-2002. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. This book provides the specifics on the St.Croix that my guy was on. It tells me the commanding officers of the ship and the ships armament.
“Naval Memorial, Halifax, NS, Canada.” Map. Google maps. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2012. <http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Naval+Memorial,+Halifax,+NS,+Canada&hl=en&ll=44.621998,-63.567066&spn=0.062068,0.169086&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.357014,86.572266&oq=halifax+naval+mem&hq=Naval+Memorial,&hnear=Halifax,+Halifax+County,+Nova+Scotia,+Canada&t=m&z=13&iwloc=B>.
“The 1939-45 Service Star.” Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2012.
Orrick, Bob. “The Canadian Navy - Ready, Aye, Ready.” http://www.senioryears.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.senioryears.com/canadanavy.html>. This website explains the history of the Canadian Navy.It also explains the creation the RCN and the amount of Canadian ships were used.
“Report Card.” Report Card. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print. Excerpt from James Hamilton Report Card. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
“Second World War Medals issued to Seamen.” nationalarchives.gov.uk. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2012.
uboat.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/3070.html>. This website gives specific information on the day my guys ship went down. It explains which German submarine destroyed and killed my guy and his ship.Also provides a google map image of were the ship was sunk.
War medal clasp. N.d. mycollectors.co.uk. Web. 15 May 2012.
James Hamilton Good
Telegraphist V/37733 Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve on HMCS St.Croix .
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Service Personnel Information
View Larger Mapthe street view on where his house was
Essay
James Hamilton Good was born at International Faith Minnesota on December 17, 1921. His parents were Leah and Percy Good (certificate of service) . He had one brother who was younger than him by eleven years named Marvin Good (Memorandum for Leah Good). The records aren’t clear on his early life so we can only presume he and his parents moved to Ontario for a better life. Since the depression was happening around 1929 till around 1933 most families were seeking jobs elsewhere. The Good family being no different from many other families moved to Canada. James Good got his education in Armstrong grade ontario. He then went into St.Pauls High School on "September 6, 1938 for grade 10.His school records says he was having trouble with passing grade 9 + 10 history and grade 10 music" (Report card). He however did not complete the school year. On December 23 1938 he left school so he could work at the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) (Report Card). I think he originally went to school because he wasn't old enough to be able to work in the work force right away. He then worked at the HBC as a department clerk for 4 years before his enlistment on may 22, 1942.James enlisted at Chippawa to be part of the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (Service Records). "The history of the R.C.N.V.R started on may 4, 1910. This was created under the Naval Service Act by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier . This helped established the Canadian navy prior to WW1. They were disbanded after WW1 but was reintroduced in 1923 due to naval budget cuts" (Orrick). The R.C.N.V.R motto is Diuturne Fidelas which translates to for long and faithful service. When James first volunteered he trained at Chippawa for 3 months. Then he would spend another 4 months training at York and St Hyacinth. His training would consist of basic naval training (ie teach him how to swim, how to survive in ocean waters) and how a warship operates.
James first ship he worked on was the Stadacona (Active Service). The "Stadacona was a patrol boat in WW1. It was later trained as a frigate for recruits during WW2" (Technical info. on the Stadacona). A frigate was an essential tool in the navy to hunt U-boats. The Corvett and the Frigate would go together and would have a max speed of 20 knots . This would match the speed of a German submarine and would drop depth charges to destroy the submarine or cause it to surface. James role on this ships was an ordinary seamen. Which was a normal person who executed everyday activities on the ship. They would do everyday stuff to gain more time on the sea, so they can apply for other jobs on the ship.
The next ship James was on was an destroyer (Active Service). The destroyer was also an important naval vessels for a few reasons. One the Destroyer was to escort conveys from North America to the United Kingdom. They would provide protection to the convoys from the U-Boats. Which leads to the second point it was meant to also destroy submarines (U-Boats) with depth charges."
The destroyer was the most capable and most feared escort vessel the allies possessed early in the war. It was larger and more heavily armed than the Frigate and considerably faster. They were also of shallow draught, making it difficult to torpedo them" (U-Boat.net). This made them an ideal weapon against submarines.
James role on the destroyer was an telegraphist. This was a job in which he was responsible of wireless communications to the ship.
A U-Boat was a German submarine that would travel in groups called "wolf packs". A "wolf pack" being can range from 2-30 submarines. The sole purpose of the U-Boat was to seek and destroy vessels inbound to Europe. Since the German battle plan was to make U.K surrender from lack of resources/supplies from her allies. The U-Boats were super effective of sinking allied vessels. They would use the cover of darkness to attack allied ships. Sometimes they would even go into the center of the convoy group and attack from within the group. This proved effective because in 1940 alone they sunk over 2.6 million tons of merchant ships.Meanwhile only 24 u-boats were sunk that year
(UBoat.net).
On James last ship he served was the St. Croix. The "St. Croix was a destroyer that was given to the Canadian Navy from the United States, previously called the McCook.The St. Croix was responsible for convoys from St. Johns to the United Kingdom" (Naval Museum). "Prior to James being killed, his ship was off the coast of France when he received orders of U-Boat activity off the coast of Greenland. There was the convoy (ON.202) that was taking enemy fire from the U-boats. The St.Croix diverted her course and was helping assisting the HMS Itchen hunting down U305. However the St.Croix was torpedoed by U305 and sunk in less than 3 minutes. 75 men died including James when his ship was torpedoed. However 75 men also survived the attack and was later rescued by he H.M.S. Itchen. Sadly thou the Itchen was sunk two days later and only 1 surviver of the St.Croix survived" (Canada's Naval Forces).
View Larger MapThis is were the destroyer St.Croix was sunk and were James was killed.
James was awarded with 1939-45 Star C.V.S.M. and a Clasp War Medal.He was awarded with the star for his services to his country.It is a recognition from the country to give thanks to his family for giving up his life to his country.
The Star was awarded for "six months service on active operations for Army and Navy, and two months for active air-crew between 02 September 1939 and 08 May 1945 (Europe) or 02 September 1945 (Pacific)" (Service Star).
This was "awarded if the service period qualified for one of the Stars and if terminated by death, disability due to service or capture as a prisoner-of-war. A merchant seaman had to have served a minimum of 28 days at sea" (medals issued to Seamen).
Military Service Record
(Veterans affairs)
Grave Reference
- Name of Cemetery: Halifax memorial , Nova Scotia
- Grave Reference: Panel 10
"The Halifax Memorial was erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 1967. It serves to commemorate the war dead of the then Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). The memorial is mostly of granite construction. It features an octagonal base topped by a cross nearly 40 feet tall. Around the base are large bronze panels which feature the names of approximately 3,000 Canadian servicemen and servicewomen who died or were otherwise buried at sea" (HMS Hood).(HMS hood)
Works Cited
- “57º30’N, 31º10’W.” Map. Google Maps. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=57%C2%BA30’N,+31%C2%BA10’W&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=57.421294,-28.652344&spn=82.522954,228.339844&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=47.029814,114.169922&t=m&z=3>.
- “The Battle of the Atlantic.” www.canadaatwar.ca. N.p., 26 May 2009. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.canadaatwar.ca/content-54/world-war-ii/the-battle-of-the-atlantic/>. This website gives out detailed information on how the U-boats would attack allied ships.
- Book of Remembrance . Book of remembrance . N.p.: n.p., n.d. 164. veterans affairs,ca. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2012.
- Canada. Department of National Defence. Memorandum for Leah Good. Ottawa : n.p., 1944. 64. Print.
- - -. Royal Canadian Volunteer Reserve. Certificate of the Service of James Hamilton Good. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.- Canadian Government. Naval Training and Active Service . N.p.: n.p., 1943. Print.
- - -. National Defence. Ship Technical Information on Stadacona. National Defence and the Canadian Forces. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2012.Internet Sites
-www.Uboat.net-www.Naval-museum.mb.ca
-www.canadaatwar.ca
-www.canadaka.net
-www.veteransaffairs.ca
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example from LAC